A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has asserted Vietnam’s
indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos,
and demanded a stop to actions violating the country’s sovereignty.

In
reply to reporters’ questions on recent reports that several Taiwanese
officials have visited Ba Binh island of the Truong Sa (or Spratly)
archipelago and “announced sovereignty” over the archipelago, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said this is an action violating
Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago, causing tensions
and further complicating the situation in the East Sea.

“Vietnam protests the arrival of Taiwanese officials on Ba Binh
island of the Truong Sa archipelago and their claim of sovereignty over
the island. Vietnam demands Taiwan immediately stop the
aforementioned action,” Nghi stressed at a press conference in Hanoi
on May 10.

Spokesman Nghi also answered questions
about China’s oil and gas exploitation activities, including putting
the 981 oil rig into operation in the East Sea.

“We think that activities of countries in the East Sea need to comply
with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea and the spirit of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in
the East Sea (DOC) and not to violate the sovereignty, sovereignty and
jurisdiction rights of other nations, thus contributing to peace and
stability in the East Sea,” he said.

In reply to
another question on wrong information on Vietnam ’s sovereignty over
the Hoang Sa or Paracel archipelago on Google Maps website, spokesman
Nghi reiterated Vietnam ’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa
and the Truong Sa archipelagos.

He affirmed,
“Information that fails to reflect the fact is totally wrong and
worthless. We are ready to share with publishers and printing companies
accurate documents and map data on Vietnam ’s sovereignty in the East
Sea.”

“The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has recently met Google representatives to affirm Vietnam’s
stance that the wording of the map on Google Maps wrongly reflects
Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and
Google has corrected these mistakes,” the spokesperson said./.

IPU-132: Gender equality discussed The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the UN Women held a conference themed “Achieving the vision of Beijing: the Views of Men” on the sidelines of the 132nd IPU Assembly.